Destination Run: Puppy!

I haven't been running since last Thursday, 7/7/11.  Prior to that, I hadn't run for a week.  Without a specific run to train for and with the increasing temperature, it's been difficult to find a reason to get out there other than my mental health.  I had last Thursday off from work and decided I needed to go out for a few miles.  I planned on 4 miles and did just that.  I was using the Cyclometer app on my iPhone and felt like the mileage was off more often than not, so I decided to use the RunKeeper app that I got for free back when they had a special going on (I think it's usually $10 or something ridiculous like that).  RunKeeper was fine, except that I can't use my iPhone headphones to cue my distance and pace.  I did have it cued to tell me some stats every 5 minutes but it didn't, so that was frustrating.  Overall, my 4 mile run went well.  I finished 4.05 miles in 42:32 which put me at an average pace of 10:30/mile. 

Over the past week I've decided on a few more organized races (though I don't actually race against anyone but myself) to keep me in line with regular running.  I've committed to The Dirty Dash in August with my Sawtooth Relay crew (and possibly others) and although I haven't paid to enter yet, I plan to run the Pocatello 1/2 Marathon on September 3rd.  Pocatello is where I graduated from college and incidentally the place I became even more obese than I had previously been.  I figure there's no better place to run a 1/2 marathon than the place that me fat! 

With those thoughts in mind, I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and get moving this past week.  I didn't.  I slept in and had obligations with family every night which resulted in lots of wine and not running after the family events ended.  I planned on running today anyway, but when my friends, Nancy and Kate, informed me they got a new lab puppy last night, I knew I needed to have a destination run to their house.  And I did just that. 

It was 4 miles to their house today and I was a sweaty mess when I arrived, as it was pretty warm outside.  I ran the 4 miles today in 45:22 - 11:21 avg pace.  I walked a few times along the way to drink water and cool myself down with the ice water from my hydration pack, so I think my actual running pace was closer to 11:00 min/mile.  I'll get back in the groove soon.  Also, today I used the Nike+ GPS app that was recommended by a friend.  I still can't pause my music to get my stats, but it did tell me my stats every mile, which was nice.  The thing I don't like is that I can't look up the splits for each mile when I've finished my run.  Maybe the Cyclometer app is the best one after all....

I have a few thoughts in my head about what October and November will look like for races, but I'm hesitant to put them in writing right now.  Time will tell...

Now, for the photo of today's destination run - Pinot Noir!